School shootings inspire new movements: National School Walkout and Walk Up Not Out

One month after the Feb. 14 mass shooting that left 17 staff and students dead at a high school in Parkland, Florida, students across the country are planning a youth-led school walkout to protest gun violence and demand action from lawmakers. (March 13)
AP

The school shooting in Parkland, Fla., has caused a wave of copycat threats, leading to school closures and lockdowns across the nation.(Photo: John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

However, people who don't want to join in the National School Walkout on March 14 to protest the violence have come up with another way to stop school shootings. Some students, parents and educators are proposing an alternative called Walk Up Not Out.

What does Walk Up Not Out mean?

Walk Up Not Out proponents say students should try harder to reach out with friendliness and compassion to their more solitary peers. By moving out of their comfort zones and helping their peers feel more welcome, the theory goes, students could potentially head off angry impulses or an outbreak of violence.

How did the movement begin?

It likely was at least partially inspired by a Facebook post on Feb. 19 by a Texas man named David Blair, who said he was a retired teacher who had taught students from 7th through 12th grades. In his post, Blair urges students to "put down your stupid phone" and instead talk to that "kid over in the corner, alone." Blair warned that a student eating lunch alone, or one who is constantly disrupting class "could likely be our next shooter." So, he urges students and teachers to befriend such an individual to make him or her feel welcome and to possibly head off a future tragedy.

"If you really feel the need to walk, walk toward that person. Your new friendship can relieve the heartache of one person and in doing so, possibly prevent the unjustifiable heartache of hundreds of lives in the future."

A week after Blair's post, Kelly Guest, a Maryland woman, wrote a post on Facebook that said "instead of walking out of school on March 14, encourage students to walk up." Her original post has since been shared nearly 70,000 times, and Guest has since taken some credit for helping start the movement.

One portion of Blair's letter that mentions gun control, a part of the platform of students who arranged National School Walkout, may have attracted the interest of groups opposed to restrictions on gun ownership. In his open letter, Blair also says this: "Don't trust that walking out of school will bring an answer. Gun control or more laws is not, and will not, be the answer. You are the answer."

What counts as a school shooting?

A school shooting is an attack at an educational institute, such as a school or university, that involved the use of a firearm and in which someone injures or kills at least at least one other student or faculty member at the school, according to Encylopaedia Britannica.

The FBI doesn't identify factors that cause a mass shooting and doesn't even use the term in its Uniform Crime Report records that it compiles from police departments nationwide, according to The Washington Post.

However, since the 1980s, the federal law-enforcement agency has defined "mass murder" as "four or more victims slain, in one event, in one location.” The offender is not included in that definition, whether the shooter committed suicide or was killed in a justifiable homicide.

The report recommends that schools take several steps, including creating a Comprehensive Prevention Plan that includes several key recommendations:

1. Foster a climate of respect and trust between teachers and students.
2. Build strong relationships between students and their school.
3. Promote communication, particularly about potentially threatening situations.
4. Identify and report behaviors and communications that raise concern.
5. Form a Threat Assessment Team that meets regularly.
6. Liaison with local law enforcement.

Response to Walk Up Not Out

The movement has inspired everything from praise to derision to concern.

Some people see it as a common-sense approach to the problem of school violence.

Critics, however, say Walk Up Not Out does everything from disrespecting students in the National School Walkout, to victim blaming, quelling free speech or defusing the call for more gun control.

Still others say Walk Up Not Out is at best naive and, at worst, potentially dangerous to those who try to take part.

Does Walk Up Not Out have advantages?

Possibly. While National School Walkout will undoubtedly get a large response on March 14, the attention on the issue could fade over time, as has happened after other school shootings, including Sandy Hook.

Some proponents of Walk Up Not Out hope that it will be a gentler, kinder — and more sustained — response to the problem of school shootings. They also hope it lasts longer than the National School Walkout, a 17-minute-long walkout by students and supporters during the school day on Wednesday, March 14, to honor the victims of the Parkland, Fla., shootings and demand changes in gun laws.

Proponents hope the welcoming attitude and an emphasis on what brings people together, rather than what divides them, is something that can build momentum in students' and teachers' everyday lives.

What could be some disadvantages?

Students who may already be shy or feel marginalized could be unfairly stereotyped by other students or teachers under the guise of school safety.

It's also difficult to know who may be the next school shooter. According to the FBI's "The School Shooter: A Quick Reference Guide," a profile of the typical school shooter doesn't exist because people who have carried out school attacks have "differed from one another in numerous ways."

Lastly, approaching a troubled student could be dangerous if a peer or faculty member doesn't have appropriate training.